These wonderful classes and series are listed on the Atlanta Botanical Garden's website on the Classes page. Registration for April 2013 classes will begin by the end of December. Check back often and register early - seats are limited.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Three varieties of sweet potatoes thrived in the EdibleGarden
this summer: ‘Georgia Jet,’ ‘Carolina
Ruby,’ and ‘All Purple.’ By the middle
of September, we had a bumper crop of beautiful, but not quite ready, sweet
potatoes. It takes time for the roots to
sweeten and develop a moist texture. We
piled the sweet potatoes in crates and cured them inside for a few weeks before
using them for cooking demonstrations and classes. They lasted for many, many demos and classes! Enjoy these simple and delicious Garden Chef recipes this fall.

Place
the sweet potato in a pot, cover with water and simmer until fork tender. Drain well and place into a food
processor. Add the coconut cream, honey
and cinnamon. Blend until smooth and
serve with toasted coconut on top.

Recipe by Garden Chef Christina
Curry

Grilled Sweet Potato and Thyme Hummus

2 sweet potatoes, peeled

3 T extra virgin olive oil, divided

½ tsp sea salt, divided

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 T sesame tahini

1 lemon,
juiced

½ tsp cumin

pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste

fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

1 T fresh thyme

Preheat grill or grill pan to high heat. Slice sweet potatoes into ¾-inch thick
wedges. In large bowl, toss wedges with
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil until coated and season with ¼ teaspoon
sea salt. Place wedges on hot grill and
cook for 5-6 minutes, turning once, or until potato is tender.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Asimina triloba, or Paw Paw, is the largest fruit native to
the eastern United States,
yet many people have never heard of it.
At the Atlanta Botanical Garden, we have
a handful of paw paw trees in the beds adjacent to the edible amphitheater. I grew up singing a song about paw paws that some
might be familiar with, something about being “way down yonder in the paw paw
patch.” But in my entire life I had
never seen a paw paw tree or tasted a fruit.
Consequently, I have been very excited for our paw paws to fruit and have
paid very special attention to them each year, first noticing the non showy
burgundy flowers that emerge before the leaves in the spring and then searching
for any sign of fruit set in vain. People
suggested the trees had not made any fruit because they weren’t old enough yet,
but others gave this advice: since paw paw flowers are pollinated by flies and
beetles hang raw chicken necks on the branches when the trees are in bloom to
attract pollinators. Gross! I knew that latter nugget of advice would not
fly here at the Garden. Don’t worry, I
have good news, apparently seedlings will fruit when they get about six feet
tall. We harvested our first fruit in
August sans a raw chicken gallows!

One fruit, one intoxicatingly fragrant kidney shaped
greenish-yellow fruit. Other common
names for the paw paw include Poor Man’s Banana, Custard Apple and Hoosier
Banana. The skin is thin, and cutting
through the middle reveals a handful of large lima bean shaped brown seeds and
a soft creamy colored pulp. We ate it
straight out of the skin with a spoon although it is said to be good in ice
creams and pies as well. It tastes like
a cross between a banana and a mango - really delicious. It is actually a very healthy fruit rich in
manganese, magnesium, zinc, iron, copper and amino acids.

A paw paw is a deciduous small tree or large shrub. It is the only temperate member of the
tropical Annonaceae family which includes other delicious fruits like soursop
(guanabana) and custard apple. In the wild,
the plant grows along streams or ravines in full sun or shade. Optimum fruit set happens in the full sun;
however, the first year or two after planting the trees can benefit from a
little shade. The term ‘paw paw patch’
comes from the plant’s ability to produce root suckers. If these suckers are allowed to grow and
produce suckers of their own a patch is formed.
The seeds contain alkaloids and are toxic if eaten. These same toxic chemicals served early
settlers well as they would used crushed seeds as an insecticide. Paw paws are not self fertile so make sure to
plant at least two unrelated trees to ensure fruit set.

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Edible Garden

Showcasing the farm-to-table concept of cultivating and consuming fresh, local and sustainably-grown food, the Edible Garden project not only returns the 1-acre asphalt parking lot to green space but also demonstrates that fruits and vegetables make beautiful landscape plants.
The garden includes an Outdoor Kitchen where Atlanta's top chefs will present cooking demonstrations using garden ingredients. On weekends, the Garden Chef demonstrates seasonal recipes using ingredients harvested straight from the Edible Garden. And, as for those leftovers go, any food not used in educational programs will be donated to local charities.